Manufacture of tapering metal disks



Aug. 5 1924. 1,504,076

I. H. PRICE MANUFACTURE OF TAPERING METAL DISKS Filed: Feb. 2. 1920 6Sheets-Sheet 1 as 1,, r a Wm 11 HII Aug. 5 1924-.

I. H. PRICE MANUFACTURE OF TAPERING METAL DISKS Filed P- 920 6Sheets-Sheet 2 ,wgw J I. H. PRICE 'Aug. 5. 1924.

MANUFACTURE OF TAPERING METAL DISKS Filed Feb. 2, 1920 6 Sheets-Sheet vSwuwtoz SHOT/14m;

Aug. 5 1924. 1,504,076

I. H. PRICE MANUFACTURE OF TAPERING METAL DISKS Filed Feb. 2. 1920 6Sheets-Sheet 4' I. H. PRICE MANUFACTURE 0F TAPERING METAL DISKS Aug; 51924.

6 Sheets-sheet Filed Feb.

.1920 F 'LQT 1. H. PRICE Aug. 5, 1924.

Filed Feb. 2, 1920 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Patented Aug. 5, 1924.

UNTTED STATES ISAAC H. PRICE, OF-WARREN, OHIG.

MANUFACTURE OF TAIERING METAL Application filed February 2, 1920. SerialNo. 355,788.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, Isaac I-I. PRICE, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Warren, in the county ofTrumbull and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in the Manufacture of Tapering Metal Disks, of which thefollowing is a specification, reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawing.

This invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of taperedmetal disks, which are especially designed and intended for use asautomobile wheels of the so-called disk-wheel type.

The wheel disk, to which my present improvement relates, has a centralportion of uniform thickness, and an elongated out wardly taperingportion extending from the outer edge of the central uniform thicknessto the periphery of the disk, the width of the elongated tapered portionbeing preferably more than two-thirds of half the diameter of the disk,the periphery of the tapered portion being preferably half the thicknessof the untapered uniform central portion.

in disks for vehicle wheels, and especially for use in automobiles, ithas been found advantageous to have the disk with an elon gatedoutwardly tapered portion extending from a relatively smaller centralportion, which is untapered and of uniform thickness.

Metal disks of the above described construction have been produced byslow, expensive and unsatisfactory methods, and it is the primary objectof my present invention to provide a quick, cheap and effective methodof producing the said described construction of disks.

I carry out my present invention by a novel rolling of the disks whilethey are in a heated condition.

In carrying out my present invention, I take a disk having a workablerolling heat, say eighteen inches in diameter, and of a uniformthickness of one-eighth of aninch, and expand it by an improved rollingmethod two inches on each side of its center with an elongated outwardlytapered. portion of about seven and one-half inches in width, theperiphery of the disk being one half of its original thickness, thuseffecting a two inch expansion with aseven and onehalf inch taper. i

' It is found in practice, that a disk having an eighth of an inchthickness will retain its rolling workable heat only about sevenseconds, thus requiring that the two inch expansion with the seven andone-half inch width taper be effected in seven seconds. So far as I amaware, no practical method has heretofore been devised whereby a diskcould be simultaneously expanded with a tapered portion having anelongated width, and in the instance stated the width of the taper beingmore than three times the expansion of the disk.

The limited time in which the expansion and tapering must take placerequires a rapid expansion and tapering and a great deal of expansion tobe ra'pldlytaken cai e of to prevent itfrom buckling, and so far as. Iam aware, such result has not been heretofore accomplished.

In general terms, my present improvement may be broadly characterized asconsisting in subjecting the periphery of a heated disk to a rollingpulling action in a direction tangential to the periphery of the disksubstantially equal to the rate of expansion of the disk and extendingover an area of the disk several times greater than its expansion, asfully set forth hereinafter.

My present invention further pertains to a machine of a novelconstruction for practicing the method.

In giving a specific description of my improved method and the manner ofpractically practicing the method, reference will be made to my improvedmachine, which is also the subject matter of this application.

This application may, therefore. be said to be for a method and machinefor the manufacture of tapered metal disks.

Referring now to the drawings,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved machine, for the practicalcarrying forward of my novel method of producing tapered metal disks.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the disk carrying portion of the machine.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the rollcarrying part of my improvedmachine and taken together with Fig. 2, makes a top plan view of themachinecomplete.

ig- 4: a top plan. i w 9 the djace ends of the disk carrying and rollcarrying mechanisms, showing them in their proper workable relativepositions for carrying out in a practical manner my improved method.

Fig. 5 is an end view looking in the di: rection indicated by arrow inFig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view showing the 4/ of rolls A and adisk-carrying mechanism B, which is movable towards the roll-carry ingmechanism, both of which mechanisms are supported upon a suitable baseor bedplate C.

Roll mechanism.

The roll mechanism A, comprises an upper roll 1 and a lower roll 2,which are provided with shafts 3 and 4, which carry at their outer; endsmeshing gears 5. The power for driving these rolls may be applied to theouter end of either of the shafts 3 and 4, in any well-known suitablemanner. The shaft 4 of the lower roll is suitably journaled in thehousings 5, and the shaft 3 of the upper. roll 1 is journaled inhousings which have a slight vertical movement in the housings 5.Located above the front end of the shaft of the front roll 1, is asuitable hydraulic cylinder 6, carrying a piston 7, which has its stem 8adapted to bear upon the front end of the sliding housing of the shaft3, for the purpose of holding the upper roll 1 in its working positionin relation to the 4 lower roll 2. The faces of the rolls 1 and 2 are ofa width at least equal to and, preferably, a little greater than thewidth of the elongated tapered portion of the disk after it has beenexpanded and tapered. Preferably, one roll has a straight surface andthe other a tapered surface, and in the example here shown, the lowerroll 2 has a straight surface and the upper roll a tapered surface.Means is provided, which will hereafter be described, for causing the hydraulic pressure of the roll 1 to be applied when the disk is beingexpanded and tapered, and for releasing the hydraulic pressure when theexpansion and tapering have been completed for permitting the taperedportion of the disk to be readily withdrawn from between the rolls.

The disk carrying mechanism B, 00111- prises a base 9, which is adaptedto slide back and forth on a suitable track 10. Projecting upward fromthe rear end of the base 9 is a rigidly supported standard 11, to whichis secured a suitable frame 12. This frame is constructed to form aU-shaped space 13 to accommodate the disk 14. The disk is supportedbetween the upper and lower revolvable clamping heads 15 and 16, theupper head being attached to a vertically movable rod 17, and the lowerhead carried at the upper end of a stationary rod 18. An intermediatelypivoted lever 19 is supported above the top of the frame 12 by suitablelinks 20. The front end of the lever 19 is pivoted to the upper end ofthe vertically movable rod 17 at the point 21, and has a dependingadjustable link 22 which has its upper end 23 pivoted to the rear end ofthe lever 19. The lower end of the link 22 is pivoted at the point 24 toa crank lever 25. With the crank lever 25 in the position shown in Fig.1, the rod 17 has been pushed down and the disk 14 is clamped betweenthe revolvable heads 15 and 16. By turning the crank 25 towards ahorizontal position, the rod 17 and its head 15 are lifted so that thedisk 14 may be placed between the heads to be clamped and it may beremoved therefrom after the expanding and tapering of the disk have beencompleted.

The ends of the bed-plate C, opposite the rolling mechanism A, areprovided with a front cylinder 26, and a rear cylinder 27. Thesecylinders carry suitable pistons with their rods extending towards eachother and connected with a cross-head 28, which extends through andbeyond an opening 29 between the said cylinders. The opposite ends ofthis cross-head 28 are connected with the rear end of the sliding base9, by means of suitable links 30. The pistons within the cylinders 27and 28 are one-way-acting pistons, and are operated by hydraulicpressure v in the manner hereafter described, whereby hydraulic pressureis admitted to first one and then the other cylinder. With the parts inthe positions shown in Fig. l, the rear piston is at the rear end of therear cylinder, and the forward piston is at the rear end of the forwardcylinder. Hydraulic pres sure is then admitted to the rear cylinder, andthe exhaust of the front cylinder opened, whereby the rear piston ismoved forward and slides the base 9 with the disk-carrying mechanismtowards the rolls 1 and 2 and the edge of the disk between the rolls.For the purpose of controlling the movement of the disk between therolls, the exhaust from the front cylinder 26 is regulated so that thedisk is caused to travel between the rolls at a speed equal to orapproximately equal to the rate of the expansion and tangential pullingaction of the rolls 1 and 2.

The hydraulic pressure to the cylinders 26 and 27 is controlled by avalve 31, located within a valve housing 32. A pipe 33 extends from thishousing to and communicates with the front end of the front cylinder 26,and a pipe 34 communicates with the valve housing and with the rear endof the rear cylinder 27. The valve 31 is provided with a suitable handle35. When the handle is in the position shown by dotted lines a, Fig. 2,the valve 31 is in the position for admitting the hydraulic pressure tothe rear cylinder and forcing its piston forward carrying thedisk-carrying mechanism to the rolls, asbefore described. When the valveis intliis position, its adjustable by pass opening 3 6 controls thespeedat which the front cylinder 26 is exhausted and,

' therefore the speed at which the disk 14 is the rolls 1 and 2.

The hydraulic, pressure of the cylinder 6 acts upon the upper roll 1 iscontrolled a lever 88, and this lever controls a v a lve 8,9 of suitableconstruction so that} when the lever is moved in one dis rection,hydraulic pressure is admitted to then-win er thro gh t e P p n whenjthe1 ,8 .11 38 is in its other position, the hydraulic pressure is releasedand the outlet pipe 41 is thrown into communica tion with the cylinder6, thus releasingthe hydraulic pressure, so that the clamping action ofthe rolls is released and the disk 1 1 can be readily drawn from betweenthem. Attention is directed to the fact that the outlet pipe 41 and 41,extends to a point at least as high as the top of the cylinder 6, toprevent the liquid from siphoning therefrom, so that the cylinder 6 isalways practically full of liquid, whereby the clamping action ispractically instantaneous with the, proper movement of the lever 38 forthat purpose. A liquid inlet pipe 42 communicates with a housing 82 ofthe valve 31, and an exhaust pipe 43 also communicates with the valvehousing 32, whereby' the valve 31 is adapted to controlthe inlet andexhaustto the cylinders .26 and 2 Particular attention is. directed toFig. 4,; for showing'therelative positions of the center of the disk andthe axes of the rolls 1 and 2. It will be observed that the axes of therolls 1 and 2, as indicated by dotted line '0, is to one side of thecenter of the disk, as indicated by dotted line (Z. This is the relativeposition of these parts, when the upper roll is rotating in thedirection indicated by, arrow in Fig. 4;. It will be understood, ofcourse, that in Fig. 4f the lQ- e per phe fthe r .1 is re v in theopposite direction from its upper Periphe y "as ndicate y. arrow in t asWith theistic rei is in i science axes f he'ro l x n Out .1

. line with the center a of the disk, and at that sid ewe hic theengaging n tins of the disk andth'e rolls are rotated. By reason ofthis, relative location, the rolls effecta pull in a directiontangential to the periphery of the disk, as shown by arrow f in Fig. 6.I have discovered that it is essential to carry out my method and theproduction of the expanded disk with the elongated taper, that the axesof the rolls and the center 6 of the disk be out of line a distance tocause a tangential pull approximately equal to the rate of expansion ofthe disk. That is to say, the distance the axis of the rolls 1 and 2 areout of line with the axis of the disk 14, controls the amount or rate oftangential pull of the rolls upon the expanding periphery of the disk.Therefore, in carrying out my invention, the axes of the rolls 1 and 2are located out of line with the axis of the disk 14 the proper distanceto cause the tangential pull of the rolls to be approximately equal tothe expansion of the disk, and the ideal realization of my invention isto have the tangential pull of the rolls exactly equal to the rate ofexpansion of the disk, but it will be understood that the relation ofthese parts may be varied within certain practical limits. The limits ofvariation cannot well be stated here, as this depends upon the characterand condition of the metal of which the disk is composed; the amount ofpressure on the disks; the speed of rotation of the disks etc. However,the location of the axes of the rolls should not be so close to the axisof the disk as to cause crowding or buckling, nor so far away as tocause the pull to tear the metal. By reason of this relative arrangementof the axes of the rolls and the axis of the disk being expanded apuckering of the disk is prevented and a tearing away of the metal isprevented, so that the result is an evenly expanded disk with anelongated taper.

Attention is called to 7, which shows a cross-section of the disk beforeit is expanded and tapered, and a cross-section of the disk after it isexpanded and tapered. In making a completed twenty-two inch expanded andtapered disk, I take a disk 18 inches in diameter and of a one-eighthinch uniform thickness. In the expanding and tapering of this disk itscenter is at one side of the center of the rolls the distance betweenthe lines a, c, Fig. 6, which is five and one-half inches, and the diskis expanded two inches forming an elongated taper having a width ofseven and one-half inches. The disk is moved forward between the rolls adistance equal to the length of the taper (7!, inches) less half theexpansion of the disk (2 inches) making the movement of the disk fiveand one-half inches between the rolls, plus the expansion of two inchescausing the extension of the disk between the rolls of seven andone-half inches, thus producing the disk with a taper having a width ofseven and one-half inches In the practical working of my improved methodand apparatus, the disk is revolved about sixteen times, thus causing anexpansion of one-eighth of an inch for each revolution. These sixteenrevolutions taking place in seven seconds in which it is expanded twoinches, the expansion is very rapid and T have discovered that thisrapid expansion can be taken care of to prevent buckling or tearing ofthe metal by having the axes of the rolls out of line with the center ofthe disk, as above described, to cause What I term a pull in a directiontangential to the periphery of the disk approximately equal to the rateof expansion, whereby the expansion is taken care of by this tangentialpull and buckling and tearing of the metal is prevented.

For the purpose of adjusting this out of line of the centers of therolls and the disks, I have the frame 12 swing on the supporting rod 11and provide the frame 12 with a curved member 44:, against the ends ofwhich adjustable bolts 45 engage for the purpose of swinging the frame12 nearer to or further from the axes line 0, Fig. 4, of the rolls 1 and2. These adjustable bolts45 extend through a curved member 46, which issuitably fastened to the base 9. By means of this adjustment, therelative positions of the centers of the rolls and disk can be setaccording to the speed of the machine, the size of the disk and thecharacter of the metal being acted upon, but in all cases involving whatI have termed the tangential pull substantially equal to the rate ofexpansion of the disk, for the purpose described.

While I show and describe a hydraulic hold-down means for the rolls 1and 2, I desire it to be understood that other forms of hold-down may beused without departing from my generic invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. The method of expanding and tapering a metal disk, which consists insubjecting the opposite sides of the periphery of the heated metal diskto a tapering rolling action pulling the periphery of the disk in adirection parallel to a tangent to the periphery of the disk, thetangential pulling action being substantially equalto the rate ofexpansion of the disk. a

2, An apparatus for expanding revolving heated disks, comprising arevolvable disk clamping support, means for operating said clamp, a pairof rolls. a table for the support movable toward the rolls, hydraulicpressure mechanism for said table to move it toward the rolls and tocontrol its movement to an adjusted speed.

3. An apparatus for expanding revolving 5. An apparatus for expandingrevolv-v ing heated rolls, comprising a base, apair of rolls at one endof the base, a pair of cylinders at the other end of the base, a

movable revolvable disk support between the cylinders and the rolls,pistons for the cylinders operatively connected with. the disk supportfor -moving it toward and away from the rolls,- and means forcontrolling pressure to and from the cylinders.

6. An apparatus for expanding revolving heated disks, comprising amovable revolvable disk support, a pair of rolls atone side of thesupport, and pressure actuated means at the opposite side of the supportconnected with the movable support and controlling the movement of thesupport toward and away from the rolls. i

7. An apparatus of the type described, comprising a pair of rollers, arevolvable disk support mountedon a slidable base, a hydraulic mechanismconnected with "the base and adapted to slideit'back and forth, and. avalve controlling the action of the hydraulic mechanism, whereby theslidable base is controlled, for the purpose de scribed. p v

8. An apparatus of the type described comprising a pair of rollers, arevolvable disk support, mounted on a slidable base, a hy-v draulicmechanism consisting of two 'cylin ders, the cylinders operative'lyconnected with the slidable base, passages operatively connected withthe said cylinders, and a valve inthe passage of the cylinder moving thebase toward the rollers, the said .valve havinga'passage adaptedto causethe base to move forward at a speed substantially equal to the expansionof the disk.

9. An apparatusof the type described, comprising a pair of rollers, arevolvable disk support mounted on a slidable base, two cylindersarranged in tandem and having their adjacent ends connected with thebase, means for supplying pressure to the opposite ends of the saidcylinders, said means including a valve for controlling the passage. ofpressure out of the innercylinder for controlling the speed at which thebase is moved toward the rollers.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature.

ISAAC H. PRICE

